Cowboy Spaghetti

We are going to be thinking outside of the box today so if that generally frightens you, turn away, eat some chocolate and rejoin us when you are ready.

This spaghetti is really not spaghetti, if you know what I mean, especially if you view spaghetti as spaghetti noodles topped with an Italian-style red sauce. What you have here is a variation of a meal I ate growing up that took the idea of spaghetti, spun it around, turned it upside down and did about 30 cartwheels.

And the resulting chaos is utterly fantastic. The sauce is still red, I’ll give you that, but instead of being rich and robust with classic deep tomato flavors and Italian herbs, it is smoky and tangy and slightly sweet…and absolutely delicious. My kids were skeptical when I put what looked like regular ol’ spaghetti sauce on the table but then followed it with a plate of olives, cheese and green onions. What the what? Mommy knows what she’s doing, kids, she’s not crazy, I promise.

But the combination works – and works well (and comes together really quickly!). I love the sweet and smoky flavor of the sauce, and then the little niblets of bacon and olives and green onions and cheese and tender ground turkey (following me?) just send it into the crazy-good atmosphere. The lesson we should all learn here, clearly, is that just because it’s spaghetti doesn’t mean it’s spaghetti. Got it? Good.

Note: It is key here to use a BBQ sauce that you really love (as in, if you dip your finger in to have a taste, you'll end up dipping it in 50 more times because it's that good). It might not seem like 1/4 cup is very much but it definitely influences the flavor of this dish. I use my favorite homemade BBQ sauce which has a delicious smoky, spicy and sweet flavor.

In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Scoop the bacon onto a plate lined with paper towels and drain the grease, if needed, leaving a teaspoon or so in the skillet for cooking the ground beef.

Return the skillet to medium heat and cook the ground turkey or beef with the onion, salt and pepper. Break the meat into small pieces as it cooks and continue cooking until the meat is no longer pink, 4-5 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for another minute. Drain any excess grease.

Stir in the cooked bacon (reserving any for sprinkling on top, if desired), crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, Worcestershire, liquid smoke (if using) and BBQ sauce. Bring the mixture to a simmer cook for 10-15 minutes (the mixture can gently simmer for up to an hour).

Boil the spaghetti noodles according to package directions until al dente. Serve the sauce over hot noodles and garnish with toppings of your choice.

20 Responses to Cowboy Spaghetti

This was known as BBQ Spaghetti in our house. It is even better the next day reheated with a little butter (noodles and sauce mixed together) in a frying pan and topped with a fried egg – you even pour a little more sauce over the egg – SERIOUS YUM!

Hi Melissa – I think it could keep refrigerated for 3-4 days. You could definitely freeze it. I like to spoon it into freezer ziploc bags, press out the air so the bags are flat and freeze it like that (I just put it in the fridge the night before I want to serve it and it thaws nicely).

Loved this Mel! I used probably 4 times the BBQ sauce, but since then I made your homemade BBQ sauce and I don’t think I would need as much of it because that sauce is amazing! Although I do like it so much I might still use more.